Google Inc launched Google News in Arabic on Wednesday. Google News in Arabic enables users to view the latest news headlines and related photos, as well as search and browse 500 Arabic news sources in the Middle East.

Google News makes use of the latest technology to enable quick and easy access to the news that matters most to individual users.

Google News allows users to view headlines and photos grouped into different categories, such as world and business news. Users can click on a headline to link directly to the news publisher's page where the complete story appears. By collating news articles from multiple sources in one place, Google makes the news more accessible and more interesting - encouraging people to read more, and benefiting the news industry as a whole.

"At Google we tailor our products to meet the needs of users in different parts of the world," said Dennis Woodside, director of Emerging Markets, EMEA. "People in the Middle East and other Arabic speakers globally will now be able to search and browse news in their native tongue. He added that the launch of Google News in Arabic demonstrates Google's commitment to bring localized products to users across the globe."

According to Madar Research, there are 23 million people online in the Middle East and this figure is expected to reach 53 million by 2008. It added that the average Internet user in major Middle Eastern markets spends around 10 hours a week online.